The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

2015 Agatha Awards (Presented in 2016) & 2016 Edgar Awards

Before I go one word further, I want to extend my congratulations to ALL the nominees and winners of both of the Agatha Awards and the Edgar Awards!

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

Wow! Last week was a great week for mystery readers everywhere. Both the Malice Domestic and the Mystery Writers of America held their annual conventions! I’m most interested in the Malice Domestic convention, simply because these are the mystery awards that are closest to what we know as Cozy Mysteries. As I have mentioned many times before, there is a reason the Agatha Awards have that name. They are the mystery books that are the closest to what Agatha Christie wrote for us. No graphic violence, sex, language >>> pretty much >>> Cozies! However, both awards are very important to us as mystery lovers.

AGATHA AWARDS MALICE DOMESTIC AWARDS
2016: Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: Katherine Hall Page *** How neat is this!

AGATHA AWARDS BEST NOVEL
2015: Long Upon the Land by Margaret Maron (Winner)
Bridges Burned by Annette Dashofy
The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson
The Nature of the Beast by Louise Penny
What You See by Hank Phillipi Ryan

AGATHA AWARDS BEST HISTORICAL NOVEL
2015: Dreaming Spies by Laurie R. King (Winner)
Malice at the Palace by Rhys Bowen
The Masque of a Murderer by Susanna Calkins
Mrs. Roosevelt’s Confidante by Susan Elia MacNeal
Murder on Amsterdam Avenue by Victoria Thompson

AGATHA AWARDS BEST FIRST NOVELS
2015: On the Road with Del and Louise by Art Taylor (Winner)
Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman by Tessa Arlen
Macdeath by Cindy Brown
Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron
Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes

AGATHA AWARDS BEST SHORT STORY
2015: A Year Without Santa Claus by Barb Goffman (Winner)
A Questionable Death by Edith Maxwell
A Killing at the Beausoleil by Terrie Farley Moran
Suffer the Poor by Harriette Sackler
A Joy Forever by B.K. Stevens

AGATHA AWARDS BEST CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULT
2015: Andi Unstoppable by Amanda Flower (Winner)
Pieces and Players by Blue Balliett
Need by Joelle Charbonneau
Woof by Spencer Quinn
Fighting Chance: A Martial Arts Mystery by B.K. Stevens

AGATHA AWARDS BEST NON-FICTION
The Golden Age of Murder: The Mystery of the Writers Who Invented the Modern Detective Story by Martin Edwards (Winner)
The Great Detective: The Amazing Rise and Immortal Life of Sherlock Holmes by Zack Dundas
A is for Arsenic: The Poisons of Agatha Christie by Kathryn Harkup
Unsolved Murders and Disappearances in Northeast Ohio by Jane Ann Turzillo
The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook: Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For by Kate White, editor

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD GRAND MASTER
2016: Walter Mosley

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARDS BEST NOVEL
2016: Let Me Die in His Footsteps by Lori Roy (Winner)

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST FIRST NOVEL
2016: The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Winner)

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL
2016: The Long and Faraway Gone by Lou Berney (Winner)

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST SHORT STORY
2016: Obits by Stephen King (Winner) found in The Bazaar of Bad Dreams

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST FACT CRIME
2016: Whipping Boy: The Forty-Year Search for My Twelve-Year-Old Bully by Allen Kurzweil (Winner)

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST CRITICAL/BIOGRAPHICAL WORK
2016: The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards (Winner)

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST JUVENILE
2016: Footer Davis Probably is Crazy by Susan Vaught (Winner)

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST YOUNG ADULT
2016: A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis (Winner)

MARY HIGGINS CLARK AWARD
2016: Little Pretty Things by Lori Rader-Day (Winner)
A Woman Unknown by Frances Brody
The Masque of a Murderer by Susanna Calkins
Night Night, Sleep Tight by Hallie Ephron
The Child Garden by Catriona McPherson

EDGAR ALLAN POE AWARD BEST EPISODE OF A TV SERIES
2016: Gently with the Women by Peter Flannery, George Gently (Winner)

Again, CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL!

June 2016 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in June 2016:

Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower): Murder, Handcrafted (This will be the 5th in the Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series.)

Ellie Alexander (aka Kate Dyer-Seeley): Caught Bread Handed (This will be the 4th in the Bakeshop Mystery Series.)

Donald Bain and Margaret Truman: Deadly Medicine (This will be the 4th in the Margaret Truman’s Capital Crimes Mystery Series.)

Lorna Barrett (aka Lorraine Bartlett & L. L. Bartlett): Title Wave (This will be the 10th in the Booktown Mystery Series.)

Christy Barritt: Dark Harbor (This will be a Love Inspired Suspense Mystery.)

Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey): Éclair and Present Danger (This will be the 1st in the NEW Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery Series.)

Nancy Bush: The Killing Game (This will be a Stand Alone Mystery.)

Lynn Cahoon: Tea Cups and Carnage (This will be the 7th in the Tourist Trap Mystery Series.)

Kate Carlisle: Books of a Feather (This will be the 11th in the Bibliophile Mystery Series.)

Amanda Carmack: Murder at Fontainebleau (This will be the 5th in the Elizabethan Mystery Series.)

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Dead End Street (This will be the 7th in the Museum Mystery Series Series.)

E.J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Written Off (This will be the 1st in the NEW Mysterious Detective Mystery Series.)

Maya Corrigan: Final Fondue (This will be the 3rd in the Five-Ingredient Mystery Series.)

Kathi Daley: Murder at Sunrise (This will be the 2nd in the Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mystery Series.)

Krista Davis: The Diva Serves High Tea (This will be the 10th in the Domestic Diva Series.)

Kay Finch: The Black Cat Knocks on Wood (This will be the 2nd in the Bad Luck Cat Mystery Series.)

Janet Finsilver: Murder at the Mansion (This will be the 2nd in the Redwood Cove Mystery Series.)

Shelley Freydont: A Golden Cage (This will be the 2nd in the Newport Gilded Age Series.)

Kaye George  (aka Janet Cantrell): Death on the Trek (This will be the 2nd in the People of the Wind Mystery Series.)

Cheryl Hollon: Cracked to Death (This will be the 3rd in the Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery Series.)

Victoria Houston: Dead Loudmouth (This will be the 16th in the Look Lake Fishing Mystery Series.)

Julie Hyzy: Grace Sees Red (This will be the 7th in the Manor of Murder Mystery Series.)

Tonya Kappes: Fixin’ To Die (This will be the 1st in the NEW Kenni Lowry Mystery Series.)

Mary Kennedy: A Premonition of Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Dream Club Mystery Series.)

Gayle Leeson (aka Gayle Trent & Amanda Lee): The Calamity Café. (This will be the 1st in the NEW Down South Café Mystery Series.)

Laura Levine: Murder Has Nine Lives (This will be the 14th in the Jaine Austen Series.)

Connie di Marco (aka Connie Archer): The Madness of Mercury (This will be the 1st in the NEW Zodiac Mystery Series.)

Mary Marks: Something’s Knot Kosher (This will be the 4th in the Martha Rose Quilting Mystery Series.)

Jennifer McAndrews: A Shattering Crime (This will be the 3rd in the Stained-Glass Mystery Series.)

Karen E. Olson: Shadowed (This will be the 2nd in the Nicole Jones thriller series.)

James Patterson:  Cross Kill (This will be an Alex Cross Mystery Series “BookShot” – Amazon describes these as “Novels you can devour in a few hours”)

James Patterson: Max Ride: Ultimate Flight (This will be the 10th in the Maximum Ride Series for Young Adults.)

James Patterson: The Games (This will be the 10th in the Private Series.)

Joanne Pence: Four O’Clock Sizzle (This will be the 4th in the Rebecca Mayfield Mystery Series.)

Marta Perry: How Secrets Die (This will be the 3rd in the Watcher in the Dark Mystery Series.)

Patricia Rockwell: Firecrackered (This will be the 5th in the Essie Cobb Senior Sleuth Mystery Series.) (This will be a Fourth of July themed mystery book.)

Sara Rosett: Marriage, Monsters-in-Law, and Murder (This will be the 9th in the Ellie Avery Mystery Series.)

Walter Satterthwait: New York Nocturne: The Return of Miss Lizzie (This will be the 2nd in the Lizzie Borden Mystery Series.)

Maggie Sefton: Knit to Be Tied (This will be the 14th in the Knitting Mystery Series.)

These Cozies (and of course many more) that are scheduled for release soon are on the Soon to be Released Mysteries page on my site.

(These are the mysteries by authors who are currently on the Cozy Mystery site.)

Cozy Mystery Book Recommendations – April 2016

I am enjoying both of the books I’m reading right now so much! I’m listening to one of Ruth Rendell‘s Inspector Wexford mysteries, and as usual, it is a terrific read! Any time I open one of her mysteries, I know I’m in for a real treat! I simply love her books! Inspector Wexford and the rest of the characters are truly written in 3-D form. Rendell is a superb story teller and can be found on both of these very prestigious lists: Crime Writers’ Association Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time AND Mystery Writers of America Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time.

As for my “real” reading >>> I’ve veered off the Cozy Mystery road and am reading one of Ann Rule‘s true crime novels. Yow! I also love her books, so I’m in a type of euphoric reading mode!

Getting back to Cozy Mysteries >>> Have you read any during April that have made you think they are way better than the rest of the Cozies you read this month? If so, would you please tell us about these super-good Cozies and why you liked them so much? We’d love to know about the Cozies you think are “better than the rest” so that we (too) can read them. (If you have a lot of Cozies you think are terrific, would you post the ones you think are even better than the others at the top of the list?)

As usual, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery book did you read during April 2016 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read and recommended this past month:

Kristi Abbott: Popcorn Shop Mystery Series (Kernel of Truth is book #1)

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Mystery Series

Barbara Allan: Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mystery Series

Gretchen Archer: Davis Way Crime Caper Mystery Series (Double Whammy is book #1)

Karoline Barrett: Bread and Batter Mystery Series (Bun for Your Life is book #1)

M. C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Hamish Macbeth Mysterty Series

Patti Benning: Darling Deli Mystery Series

Jennie Bentley (aka Jenna Bennett & Bente Gallagher): Do It Yourself Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Evan Evans Mystery Series

Frances Brody: Kate Shackleton Mystery Series

Duffy Brown: Cycle Path Mystery Series

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery Series

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery Series

E.J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Paws & Claws Mystery Series

Steve Demaree: Dekker Mystery Series (52 Steps to Murder is book #1)

Laura DiSilverio (aka Lila Dare & Ella Barrick): Readaholics Book Club Mystery Series

Elizabeth J. Duncan: Penny Brannigan Mystery Series

Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Allan): Magical Bookshop Mystery Series

Eva Gates (aka Vicki Delany): Lighthouse Library Mystery Series

Ann Granger: Markby & Mitchell Village Whodunit Mystery Series

Lee Harris: Christine Bennett (Holiday) Mystery Series

Ellen Elizabeth Hunter: Magnolia Mystery Series

Karen MacInerney: Margie Petersen Mystery Series

G.A. McKevett: Savannah Reid Mystery Series

Meg Muldoon: Christmas River Mystery Series

Renee Patrick: Lillian Frost and Edith Head Mystery Series (A Design for Dying is book #1)

Louise Penny: Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series

Anne Perry: Charlotte and Thomas Pitt Mystery Series

Carol J. Perry: Witch City Mystery Series

Rose Pressey: Haunted Village Mystery Series

Ruth Rendell: Inspector Wexford Mystery Series

J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts): Eve Dallas (In Death) Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Paige Shelton: Scottish Bookshop Mystery Series

Karen Rose Smith: Caprice De Luca Mystery Series

Denise Swanson: Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery Series

Margaret Yorke: Stand Alone mysteries

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.

Realtor Sleuths in Cozy Mysteries

home8A while ago, Terri asked me to post a Realtor themed entry:

… Could you do a list of cozies with professions of Realtors (as this series is) or Real Estate Appraisers (“Appraisal for Murder” by Elaine Orr, series Jolie Gentil Cozy Mysteries)- or maybe a combined list? Kathleen Delaney’s “Ellen McKenzie mysteries” would also fit. …

I keep a list of possible themes which I try to add to whenever I start the posting process for a new-to-the-site author, so I already had the theme going. So, the realtor sleuth theme now will join some of the many themes I have on my site such as Librarians Sleuths in Cozies, Culinary Cozies with Recipes, Cozies with Cats, etc.

Realtor Sleuths in Cozy Mysteries:

Jenna Bennett (aka Jennie Bentley & Bente Gallagher): Savannah Martin Mystery Series – Savannah is a divorced Southern Belle who is a realtor in Nashville, Tennessee.

Catherine Bruns: Cindy York Mystery Series

Ann Charles: Deadwood Humorous Mystery Series – Violet “Spooky” Parker, is a single mom of twins who wears purple cowboy books and is a real estate agent in a little town called Deadwood (South Dakota). Violet has a tendency to sell haunted houses, so watch out!

Cheryl Crane: Nikki Harper Mystery Series – Nikki is a celebrity realtor in Hollywood.

Vicki Doudera: Darby Farr Mystery Series – Darby is a realtor on an island off of Maine’s coast.

Charlaine Harris: Aurora Teagarden Mystery Series – At the beginning of the series, Aurora (Roe) is a librarian. She later becomes a real estate agent in Georgia.

Traci Tyne Hilton: Mitzy Neuhaus Mystery Series – Mitzy is a top-selling realtor in Portland, Oregon. (These are billed as “cozy Christian” mysteries.)

Nancy Lynn Jarvis : Regan McHenry Real Estate Mystery Series – Regan is a realtor/sleuth and her husband Tom is an ex-computer programmer, in Santa Cruz, California.

Barbara Lee: Chesapeake Bay Mystery Series

Tierney McClellan (aka Barbara Taylor McCafferty & Taylor McCafferty) : Schuyler Ridgway Mystery Series – Schuyler is a realtor in Louisville, Kentucky.

Elaine Orr: Jolie Gentil Mystery Series – Jolie is a real estate appraiser in an east coast beach town called Ocean Alley, in New Jersey.

Maggie Sefton: Kate Doyle Mystery Series – Kate is a divorced realtor in a Colorado college town. (Well, actually there is only one book in this series.)

Nina Wright: Whiskey Mattimoe Mystery Series – Whiskey, a widow, works as a realtor in a resort town in Michigan. Abra is her Afghan Hound.

If you’re interested in finding other themes of Cozy Mystery series, I have lots and lots of themes on the Cozies by Themes page of my Cozy-Mystery site.

By the way, if you know of any other Cozy Mystery Realtor Sleuths, please post a comment. Thank you!

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